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Fruit Chan's Made in Hong Kong Essay

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1. Introduction
Made in Hong Kong (1997) is one of the independent films directed by the “grassroots director” Fruit Chan on low budget production. The cost of production was kept low by utilizing the leftover film reels and amateur actors such as Sam Lee Chan-Sam who has been awarded best New Artist in the 17th Annual Hong Kong Films Awards and nominated Best Actor in 35th Annual Golden Horse Awards. Made in Hong Kong is very much a vernacular film featuring the Hong Kong society and culture in 1997, particularly the social marginality and violence in juvenile delinquency . This paper will assess how the film expresses nation’s sentiments by portraying the livelihood of four teenagers, namely Autumn Moon, Ping, Ah Lung and Susan, and the …show more content…

The quest of identity and significance of death in the film have been justified in the paper.

Based on the analysis of the protagonists’ livelihood showcased in the film, this paper will investigate how the film depicts the social environment in the transition period that lead them to all kind of sentiments such as desperation, anxiety and depression and subsequently termination of life.

3. Critical analysis
3.1 Themes
Made in Hong Kong being the first film of Chan’s “Handover Trilogy” depicts the realistic living circumstances of Hong Kong population in 1997 during the critical moment of transition, reveals their emotions during this period and gives subtle perspective on this major event in the 20th century. The film expounds the public sentiments and shows nation’s apprehension and anxiety towards this event, particularly through “death”.
3.2 Motifs
Suicide notes: Two suicide notes written by Susan before jumping off from rooftop, one for her parents, another for her lover, are deemed as the motifs of this film as they link the destiny of three other characters throughout the film. Ah Lung accidentally encounters the Susan’s death body, intuitively adopts the two suicide notes soaked in her blood and passes them to Moon. Ever since then, Moon has been pestered by Susan’s spirit

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